Page 23 of Wicked Oath
“I don’t. But since he defiled you—”
“He didn’t defile me,” I cut in.
“—Heneeds to be the one to marry you,” Owen continues. “If you were to marry someone else and the rumor came out that you weren’t a virgin, it would be awful for you. So, even though I hate it, James made it impossible for me to argue against this marriage. It just makes me hate him more.”
I place my hands on my hips. “He didn’t have sex with me to hurt you, Owen. We had sex because there’s a connection between us. Not everything is about you.”
“Just be happy I’m not telling Dad about this, ok?”
“Ok,” I grumble.
Owen nods once and then leaves.
“Wow,” Lucy comments as I sit back down. “That was intense. But Owen’s just looking out for you, you know. He’s sweet like that.”
“Lucy, just stop, please.” I burrow my head in my hands. “I know you have a crush on my brother, but I need you on my side for this. Tell me Owen’s being unreasonable.”
“Owen’s being unreasonable,” she parrots.
“Thank you.” I drop my hands and lift my head. “So I guess I’m getting married sooner than I thought.”
“Is that a problem? You like James.”
“I do! I just wasn’t expecting any of this.” I flop down on my bed. “I should call James and give him a heads up.”
She pats my leg. “I’ll leave you to it.” She scrambles over the window seal. “See you at your wedding.”
I call James once Lucy’s gone. “Just couldn’t resist calling me, could you?” he says once he answers.
“James, Owen found out about us.”
He pauses before chuckling. “Did his head explode? Please tell me his head exploded.”
I laugh at the image. “But the thing is, he’s talking to my dad right now and wants to speed up the wedding date. He promised not to mention anything about us having sex but still …”
“Well, this is good news.”
“Really? You’re ok with our wedding happening sooner?”
“Of course. I just want to be with you, Olivia. Call me smitten, I guess.”
I blush at his words. “I’m smitten, too. I can’t wait to marry you, James.”
“Neither can I.”
“The thing is, though, Owen doesn’t want me seeing you until the wedding. I can’t risk him discovering us. I’d hate to disappoint my parents, you know?”
“I understand. I can wait until the wedding to see you again. But just remember how good I made you feel today and carry that with you.” My body tingles at the thought.
“I will,” I whisper. “I got to go through. I need to know what Owen’s saying to my dad.”
“Until our wedding day, baby.”
“Until our wedding day.”
* * *
Our wedding dayhappens in just a little over a week later. After Owen convinced Dad that it would be better for our families for the wedding to happen sooner and Dad agreed, wedding planning took off like wildfire.
